Portable humidifier case construction

ABSTRACT

A portable humidifier having a case formed of separate panels of plastic that are held together by cooperating tongue and groove configurations and by detent tabs and screws, thereby allowing panel fabrication and easy case set up at separated sites and the compact shipment of stacked panels therebetween; and further where one case panel is provided with the mounting means for all operative humidifier components, such that the same can be assembled onto the one case panel and then operated as a working unit while yet being exposed for debuging and/or final calibration of same, all prior to final assembly of the humidifier.

United States Patent 11 1 Hoag 5] Nov. 4, 1975 PORTABLE HUMIDIFIER CASE3.596.886 8/1971 Trautman 261/92 CONSTRUCTION 3,598,370 8/1971 Hoag 1.261/ x 3,637,194 1/1972 Swimmer et al. 261/92 X lnvemorl P Hoag. Cwwrd,Mich 3.696.960 10/1972 Smirle 220/62 x 3,721,484 3/1973 Macioge et a1.312/247 X [73] Ass'gnee' mccraw 3730.497 5/1973 Schmitt et al 261/24[22] Filed: Mar. 13, 1974 Primary Examiner-Tim R. Miles AssistantExaminerRichard L. Chiesa [21] Appl 45O798 Attorney, Agent, orFirmCharles F. Lind [52] US. Cl. 261/30; 220/4 F; 261/92; [57] ABSTRACT2 312/210; 312/263; 312/284 A portable humidifier having a case formedof sepa- [5 l 1].. Cl. BOIF 3/04 rate panels of plastic that are ltagether by coopfip [58] held of Search 261/24 ating tongue and grooveconfigurations and by detent 261/30; 220/62 4 4 F; 2/204! tabs andscrews, thereby allowing panel fabrication 7 R 284; 285/305 and easycase set up at separated sites and the compact shipment of stackedpanels therebetween; and [56] References Cited further where one casepanel is provided with the UNITED STATES PATENTS mounting means for alloperative humidifier compo- 2 316,404 1943 c u 220/4 C X nents, suchthat the same can be assembled onto the 2,584,618 2/1952 Robic 1. 261/92one case panel and then operated as a working unit 2.934.184 4/1960Moser v l 1 1 285/305 X while yet being exposed for debuging and/orfinal cali- 312311247 1/1966 GOG"! r v 3 3 4 w 261/24 bration of same,all prior to final assembly of the hu- 3,348,821 10/1967 Martin et all 11 1 v l 261/91 X fi 3,437,318 4/1969 Abbott et al 1 4 1 H 26l/243,588,212 6/1971 Gersch et a1 312/204 1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures US.Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of 2 U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 0123,917,757

r 6 FIGS i i P y! l: 106 44 50 I l i i 1 MW i i I! PORTABLE HUMIDIFIERCASE CONSTRUCTION This invention relates to a portable humidifier or thelike and particularly to the case construction of same having snaptogether interlocking panels, and more over to the operative support onone of the panels of substantially all working humidifier components.This application is related to my pending application Ser. No. 4l2,7l0entitled PORTABLE HUMIDIFIER filed Nov. 5, 1973.

A portable humidifier typically has a case enclosing a pan-like watercontainer, and humidifying mechanism is supported within the caseeffective to dissipate container water as vapor to the surroundingenvironment. The trend is toward decorative cases simulating qualitypieces of furniture, and such cases are typically fabricated of metal orplastic, frequently also having certain of the panels grained and/orvinyl covered to give a decorative wooden appearance. The fabrication ofcertain decorative plastic cases frequently is by a molding specialist,who then ships the cases to the humidifier manufacturer who then in turninstalls the working humidifier components in place, Since most suchbox-like cases cannot properly be nested together or stacked to formcompact packages, this practice is expensive, Moreover, the workinghumidifier components, when operatively united to the case as intended,are most commonly quite inaccessible for testing, recalibration and/orrepair or replacement.

One main object of this invention is to provide a case constructioncomprised of fabricated generally flat panels which can be snappedand/or bolted together and interlocked quite easily to form the case,thereby economically allowing the separated fabrication of the panelsand assembly thereof to form the case.

Another main object of this invention is to provide, in the design ofaportable humidifier, for the total support of substantially all workinghumidifier components from only a single case panel, and the readyassembly of this panel to the remainder of the case, thereby allowingthe assembly and exposed testing as a unit of all components even beforethe final assembly of the humidifier.

The many advantages of this invention will be more fully understood andappreciated after reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, broken away for greater clarity, of ahumidifier construction utilizing this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view as seen generally from line 2-2 inFIG, 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as seen generally from line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing adjacent panelsand typical cooperating locks for holding same together;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partly broken away for greater clarity, ofthe rear case wall;

FIG. 6 is an elevational sectional view as seen from lines 6-6 in FIG.I; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view as seen generally from line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

Referring to the drawings, the disclosed humidifier I has a container 12for water, a case 16 encloses the container l2, and a drum )8 isrotatably supported within the case partly in and partly out of thecontainer water. The drum has one closed end 20, an annular open end 22,and thin spaced bars 23 connecting the ends and providing support for acovering mat 24 of porous material. The drum support includes amotorpowered roller 26 which engages the inner edge of the drum end 22to rotate the drum, so that the mat 24 is wetted as it passes throughthe container water and is exposed to the air above the container. Amotor 28 supports and rotates a fan 30 in a rear case wall opening 32operable to draw in outside ambient air and force it through the wettedmat 24 for discharge from the case vent 34 to the surroundingatmosphere.

The case 16 is generally rectangular in shape and is comprised on afront wall 40, a pair of side walls 42, and a rear wall 44. An upper lip46 from the rear wall 44 forms part of the top case wall, and an opengrill 48 is removably supported on ledges 50 from the front. side andrear walls and defines the air outlet vent 34 and completes the top casewall. The case 16 has no bottom wall, and thus can be verticallypositioned over the container to virtually hide same. Case wall ledges52 project beyond and rest on the container to support the case at orslightly above the supporting surface. My above mentioned co-pendingapplication discloses and claims this particular combination.

The front panel 40 has at each end rearwardly projecting parallelflanges or tongues 56 and S8, and each tongue 58 has an opening 60therein. Each side panel 42 correspondingly has a forwardly open channelor groove 62 defined between the main panel portion and an inwardlyspaced track portion 63. When the adjacent side and front panels arefitted together properly with the corners butted, the tongues 56 and 58fit within the receiving grooves 62, and moreover a detent 64 located onthe side wall snaps into the tongue opening 60 to hold the adjacentpanels together. Webs 66 connect the track elements 63 to the main panelportion for stiffening the construction and further for locating thetongues and restraining shifting of the connected panels. The adjacenttongues 56 and 58 are parallel and can be coplaner for ease offabrication separated only by a cutout 68 that receives thestrenghtening web 66.

The adjacent side and front panels overlap at butted edge portions 70which are preferably sloped relative to the main panel sections to meettightly and hide the juncture line between them, when the panels aresecured together. By sloping them to meet flush when the panels areangled at just less than the normal interior corner angle after thedetents are snapped in place, the edge portions are pinched even tightertogether after the panels are spread apart to the proper interior anglewhich more effectively hides the exposed juncture line. Each detentpreferably further has a sloping lead face 74 to cam the lead end of thecooperating tongue inwardly until when the adjacent panels are buttedtightly together and the detent falls into the tongue opening 60; andthe build up flat 7] on the detent or the panel wall itselfis thenengaged by the tongue to limit angling of the connected panels.

The tongue and groove cooperation hold the panels relative to oneanother to simulate almost a one-piece structure, but the panelfabrication and set up need not be at the same site to give moremanufacturing flexibility to this type case construction.

The front panel 40 and/or the side panels 42 can have decorative raises78 or recesses 79 which gives the appearance ofa structured woodcabinet, and the panels can he embossed and colored to correspond towood grain. as is known in the molding art. When the adja cent panelsare secured together. the decorative raised portions 78 blend togetherat the corners to give the desired overall pleasing case appearance.

The rear wall 44 is formed preferably as a one-piece plastic moldinghaving forwardly directed side flanges or tongues 80 and spaced openingsfor connecting bolts 83. The tongues 80 fit within correspondingrearwardly open channels or grooves 84 formed on the adjacent side wallby the main portion of the wall and inwardly spaced flanges, andenlarged boss areas 85 on each side wall form seats for the securingbolts 83. Consequently, the rear panel can be removably secured to the Ushaped snapped together side and front wall assembly, but preferablyonly upon some slight outward angling of the side walls relative to thefront wall to close the corner juncture as noted above.

The rear wall 44 also has integrally molded therewith a number of cowlsor guides for diverting air through the wetted mat 24 and supporting theoperating humidifier components. Thus cylindrical cowl 90 defines theair inlet opening 32, and an integral protective grill 92 of spacedradial and circumferential ribs at the outer end of the cowl supportsthe fan motor 28 and also protects against accidental touching of thefan blade 30. The positioned drum matches up with and lies closelyadjacent a semi-cylindrical cowl 94, and ledge 96 between the terminalends of the drum cowl 94 projects slightly into the drum; and theseserve to direct air flow through the mat 24 and to minimize leakagemerely past the drum and case. A forwardly formed cylindrical boss area99 forms a mounting support for a shaft upon which a drum supportingidle roller 100 is journaled; and the drum supporting powered drumroller 26 is keyed to the output shaft of a motor powered speedreduction unit 102 in turn secured to the rear panel wall 112. The drumis vertically supported by its open end 22 riding in the rollers 26 and100, and is horizontally restrained by anti-friction clips 106 snappedonto the baffle ledge 96 adjacent the drum cowl 94. This provides forthe drum support solely from structure associated with the rear panel,and the lower drum portion merely extends into the water container butdoes not receive any support therefrom.

The rear panel 44 also defines a rearwardly open cavity 114, formed byinward directed walls 110 and rearwardly offset wall 112, which cavityis suitable for receiving the electrical controls. Thus, a metal controlbox 118 is supported in the cavity on ledge 119, and combination on-offand humidistat control switch 120 and fan speed control switch 122 arelocated in this control box in appropriate electrical connection withthe fan motor 28 and drum drive motor 102. A plate 126 is secured to therear panel and to the control box to enclose the controls and hold thebox within the cavity. A water level control 128 is provided on the rearpanel and includes a float arm 130 pivoted at pin I32 to the panel and alink 134 connected betweeen the arm and an indicator drum 138 pivoted tothe upper lip and visible through an opening thereinv A water levelsafety control can be provided with a linkage connection 138 between thehumidistat and the indicator drum, where operation of the humidifiercomponents is terminated when an inadequate supply of water is in thecontainer 12.

[t is thus noted that the disclosed humidifier has a readily fabricatedcase comprised of a snapped together front and side panel generallyU-shaped subassembly. and a bolted on removable rear panel. Also thedisclosed humidifier has a design where the rear wall supports all ofthe working humidifier components, including all controls therefor.

This particular humidifier construction has great util ity, for example,in regard to the manner and ease of assembly. The front wall and the twoadjacent side walls can be fabricated by a plastic specialist andshipped flat with like relatively well nested parts to a humidifiermanufacturer and thereat can be snapped and interlocked together to thegenerally U-shaped subassembly. The rear wall can be supported in anappropriate fixture (not shown) and to it each of the workingcomponents, both electrical and mechanical, can be installed in place.The working components as then supported exposed on the fixtured rearpanel can be operated as an actual humidifier unit. Any necessaryadjustments can be made or any malfunction can likewise be easilycorrected at this time since all parts are exposed and accessible.Thereafter, the rear wall with the secured working humidifier components(except for the drum which should be removed) and the U- shaped frontand side wall subassembly can be connected together to define thefinished humidifier case. The drum can then be located in place, and thecase positioned over the water container to complete the assembly.

I claim:

I. A portable humidifier combination comprising a case, water container,and a humidifying mechanism; said case being formed of four separateplastic side wall panels meeting at corner junctures thereof, three ofthe adjacent case side wall panels having between adjacent pairs of sidepanels interlocking tongue and groove means and cooperating interlockingdetent means at the respective corner junctures thereof operable toorient and to hold the adjacent panels relative to one another in agenerally U-shaped subassembly, the remaining one case side wall panelbeing separably connected to this subassembly of three case side wallpanels to define a generally tubular configuration and means forreleasably securing the one case side wall panel in place, said casefurther having spaced openings for the inlet and outlet of ambient airand an internal air flow path therebetween, said inlet opening beingformed in the one side wall panel and open grill structure integral withthe one side wall panel transversely across the opening, fan meanssupported directly from the one side wall panel inwardly adjacent thegrill means operable for moving ambient air from the inlet through thecase and out the outlet, a cylindrical cowl integral with the one sidewall panel and surrounding the air inlet opening and the fan means, saidone case wall panel further having integrally defined therewith inwardlyextended wall portions and an inwardly offset connecting wall portionwhich define a cavity open to the side of the wall panel opposite thetubular configuration, and control means in the cavity for operating thehumidifying mechanism; the container being located in the case and beingreadily separable therefrom; and said humidifying mechanism beingdisposed in part in the water container and in part in the air flow pathbut being supported solely from the one case wall panel and beingoperable thereon for electrical and mechanical checkformed integrallytherewith a semi-cylindrical cowl projected inwardly from said wallpanel in closely spaced concentric adjacent relation with the supporteddrum and a ledge between opposite ends of the semicylindrical cowl,whereby the cowls and ledge serve to direct air flow to within the caseand through the humidifying mechanism mat and to minimize leakage pastthe drum and case.

I) II

1. A PORTABLE HUMIDIFIER COMBINATION COMPRISING A CASE, WATERCONTAINER,AND A HUMIDIFYING MECHANISM, SAID CASE BEING FORMED OF FOURSEPARATE PLASTIC SIDE WALL PANELS MEETING AT CORNER JUNCTURES THEREOF,THREE OF THE ADJACENT CASE SIDE WALL PANELS HAVING BETWEEN ADJACENTPAIRS OF SIDE PANELS INTERLOCKING TONGUE AND GROOVE MEANS ANDCOOPERATING INTERLOCKING DETENT MEANS AT THE RESPECTIVE COENOR JUNCTURESTHEREOF OPERABLE TO OEIENT AND TO HOLD THE ADJACENT PANELS RELATIVE TOONE ANOTHER IN A GENERALLY U-SHAPED SUBASSEMBLY, THE REMAINING ONE CASESIDE WALL PANEL BEING SEPARATELY CONNECTED TO THIS SUBASSEMBLY OF THREECASE SIDE WALL PANELS TO DEFINE A GENERALLY TUBULAR CONFIGURATION ANDMEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING THE ONE CASE SIDE WALL PANEL IN PLACE,SAID CASE FURTHUR HAVING SPACED OPENINGS FOR THE INLET AND OUTLET OFAMBIENT AIR AND AN INTERNAL AIR FLOW PATH THEREBETWEEN, SAID INLETOPENING BEING FORMED IN THE ONE SIDE WALL PANEL AND OPEN GRILL STRUCTUREINTEGRAL WITH THE ONE SIDE WALL PANEL TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE OPENING,FAN MEANS SUPPORTED DIRECTLY FROM THE ONE SIDE WALL PANEL INWARDLYADJACENT THE GRILL MEANS OPERABLE FOR MOVING AMBIENT AIR FROM THE INLETTHROUGH THE CASE AND OUT THE OUTLET, A CYLINDRICAL COWL INTEGRAL WITHTHE ONE SIDE WALL PANEL AND SURROUNDING THE AIR INLET OPENING AND THEFAN MEANS, SAID ONE CASE WALL PANEL FURTHUR HAVING INTEGRALLY DEFINEDTHEREWITH INWARDLY EXTENDED WALL PORTIONS AND AN INWARDLY OFFSETCONNECTING WALL PORTION WHICH DEFINE A CAVITY OPEN TO THE SIDE OF THEWALL PANEL OPPOSITE THE TUBULAR CONFIGURATION, AND CONTROL MEANS IN THECAVITY FOR OPERATING THE HUMIDIFYING MECHANISM, THE CONTAINER BEINGLOCATEDD IN THE CASE AND BEING READILY SEPARABLE THEREFROM, AND SAIDHUMIDIFYING MECHANISM BEING DISPOSED INPART IN THE WATER CONTAINER ANDIN PART IN THE AIR